Gift Guide 2017: Make Mine Mozzarella

You probably don't need to make your own butter, and you certainly don't require a ricotta kit; all you need for that is a lot of milk and a little bit of lemon.

Mozzarella, on the other hand, is a different matter.

Here's the thing: although real mozzarella, the kind you buy in Italy, is made from water buffalo milk, it loses something as it travels. As the Italian cheesemaker who taught me to make mozzarella told me, "You must never, never, refrigerate this cheese.  It ruins it."

It's true: nothing tastes like freshly made mozzarella that has never seen the inside of a refrigerator. And if you can't get water buffalo milk (and you can't), your next best option is to use good cow's milk and make your own.

That's why I love the mozzarella kits from Roaring Brook Dairy.   Everything you need to make your own mozzarella - minus, of course, the milk. For that I'd suggest throwing in a few bottles of the best local milk you can find. Your friends will thank you.